Israel’s Security Cabinet makes return of northern residents an official war goal
Israel’s Security Cabinet updated its official war goals to include the return of 60,000 evacuated northern residents to their homes during an overnight meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Tuesday morning.
The Magenim Elementary School in the evacuated northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona stands empty on Sept. 5, 2024. Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL
“Israel will continue to act to achieve this goal,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Nearly 60,000 Israelis were forced to evacuate their homes near the Lebanon border when Hezbollah began launching rockets and drones in October. Hezbollah leaders have said they will continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes. The attacks have killed 26 civilians and 20 soldiers on the Israeli side.
According to figures released by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Hezbollah fired 1,307 rockets at northern Israel in August, an average of 40 rockets daily. Since October 8, Hezbollah has launched more than 6,700 rockets and drones.
Israeli officials have been calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Israel’s three other official war goals are the eradication of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the return of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
